DECEMBER 2018 news

Air Forces - Aerospace and Defense Industry

Israel receives 7th C-130J Shimshon tactical airlifter

Posted On
Thursday, 27 December 2018 12:16

The Israeli Air Force's seventh "Shimshon" (Super Hercules C-130J) has arrived – over the weekend, the aircraft landed in Nevatim AFB and joined the ranks of the 103rd ("Elephants") Squadron. Here's everything you wanted to know about the tactical transport aircraft, which is capable of carrying 128 combatants, 97 stretchers and four HMMWVs.

Russia A-100 AEW aircraft made second test flight

Posted On
Thursday, 27 December 2018 11:57

Russia's A-100 airborne early warning (AEW) aircraft made its second flight during trials and all systems operated normally. The aircraft is created by a group of enterprises led by Vega Concern and the Beriev aircraft plant, Rostec State Corporation said.

Airbus secures contract extension for RAAF C-130J fleet support

Posted On
Thursday, 27 December 2018 11:04

Airbus and Australia’s Department of Defence have signed a two year contract extension to Airbus’ Through Life Support (TLS) sustainment contract in support of the Royal Australian Air Force’s fleet of C-130J Hercules transport aircraft, the aircraft maker said on December 18, 2018.

Kazakhstan receives new batch of Su-30SM fighter jets

Posted On
Thursday, 27 December 2018 09:30

The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan (AFRK) have received a batch of Sukhoi Su-30SM (NATO reporting name: Flanker-H) multirole combat aircraft, the country`s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement.

Sikorsky, Boeing roll out SB-1 Defiant helicopter

Posted On
Wednesday, 26 December 2018 17:24

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, and Boeing provided the first look at the SB-1 Defiant helicopter the companies have developed for the U.S. Army's Joint Multi-Role technology demonstrator program, the helicopter maker said on December 26, 2018.

Wing Loong I-D MALE UAV completes maiden flight

Posted On
Wednesday, 26 December 2018 11:53

The lightweight fuselage gives the new Wing Loong I-D drone a significant boost in operating endurance, payload and service ceiling Chinese experts noted on Monday after China's first multi-purpose drone for export that uses a composite material structure successfully completed its maiden flight.

More Su-34 bombers delivered to Russia's Chelyabinsk air regiment

Posted On
Wednesday, 26 December 2018 11:07

Two Su-34 frontline bombers were delivered to the air regiment deployed in Chelyabinsk region, the Central Military District said. "The aircraft flew from Novosibirsk to Shagol military airfield in Chelyabinsk region. Pilots and engineers were retrained for Su-34 in the Lipetsk center and received the necessary certificates," it said.

Lockheed Martin secures $997M contract for Greece F-16s upgrade

Posted On
Monday, 24 December 2018 11:46

Lockheed Martin recently secured a $996.8 million foreign military sales (FMS) contract for upgrading 84 Hellenic Air Force F-16 jets to the V-configuration, the US Department of Defense said on December 21, 2018.

Ukrainian Ministry of Interior receives first batch of H225 helicopters

Posted On
Monday, 24 December 2018 11:17

Kick-starting the modernisation of Ukraine’s helicopter fleet, Airbus Helicopters has delivered the first two H225s, out of an order for 21 aircraft, to the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior. One aircraft is destined for search and rescue missions and the other one will be operated by the National Guard for law enforcement missions. The H225 helicopters were repurposed to suit these public service missions in just over three months. Another two H225s will join the fleet in the coming weeks.

Saab wins new order for Swedish Air Force Gripen E program

Posted On
Monday, 24 December 2018 10:13

Saab has received an order from the Swedish Defence Materiel Administration (FMV) regarding new equipment for Gripen E. This is a supplementary contract to the previous Gripen E contract, and is valued to approximately US$ 47.57 million.

L-39NG Jet Trainer Made Maiden Flight

Posted On
Monday, 24 December 2018 08:54

The first pre-serial L-39NG trainer and light attack aircraft with serial number 7001 made its first flight on 22ndDecember, at Aero Vodochody Airport. The new generation of the Czech jet trainer was piloted by Aero’s test pilots David Jahoda and Vladimír Továrek. At 10:38am, the aircraft took off from the runway, climbed up to 5,000ft. and after 26minutes successfully landed at Aero Vodochody. The maturity of the platform allowed the execution of some development tests during the flight.